This invention relates to a rail mounted patient lift.
Rail mounted patient lifts are well known. One such lift is disclosed in EP-A-1090620. The known lifts comprise a ceiling mounted rail and a carriage mounted for displacement along the rail usually by power operated drive means on or within the carriage. The lifts also comprise a flexible elongate support element, usually having a sling hanger attached to its free end, and power operated lifting means for extending and retracting the support element relative to the carriage.
These patient lifts are regularly installed in hospital wards and the like. Curtains are also installed in hospital wards to give privacy to patients on the ward. There is a problem in providing cross overs between the path of the curtain and the path of a ceiling mounted patient lift.
According to the present invention there is provided a rail mounted patient lift comprising a ceiling mountable rail, a carriage mounted for displacement along the rail, a flexible elongate support element and power operated lifting means for extending and retracting the support element relative to the carriage, wherein the rail comprises a plurality of rail sections which in use are suspended from a ceiling with a gap therebetween at a position where the rail is to cross the path of a curtain and wherein each rail section has at least one pivotable flap engageable by the carriage as it moves along the rail, the flap of one of a pair of adjoining rail sections being pivotable by the carriage as it moves in one direction to bridge the gap between the two sections and the flap of the other of the pair of adjoining rail sections being pivotable by the carriage as it moves in an opposite direction to bridge the gap between the two rail sections.
The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.